Sports

Behind two seniors, the 2011 Anzar Hawks volleyball team had its best season since its 2002 Central Coast Section Division V championship, going 20-10 and earning a berth in the CCS quarterfinals.

Cary, N.C. - San Benito High senior Jacob Tonascia made the best of his chance to impress baseball scouts on the national stage over the weekend.

Coming off a second-place finish last fall in the final year of the Tri-County Athletic League, the San Benito High girls volleyball team brings seven returning seniors and high expectations into the new year in the Monterey Bay League.

Playing in the Tri-County Athletic League B Division a year ago, the San Benito boys water polo team believed they were undervalued and undeservedly placed in a lower-tier league. After finishing with a 12-2 record inside the TCAL, and clinching the league championship with a goal in the closing seconds over Palma, the Balers won’t be underappreciated in 2012 when their season starts on Aug. 30 at Soquel.

If everything goes right, 2012 promises to be a much better season for the Anzar High football team in its second year of existence. With a summer to prepare and the addition of new faces, Anzar head coach Luis Espinoza is ready to see his team take the next steps.

Nine months removed from a shutout loss to Archbishop Mitty in the first round of the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs, the San Benito Balers’ 2012 football team is ready to wash away that bad taste from their collective mouths.

Last year, the Anzar High football team experienced a series of firsts, including the school’s first score and win. In the program’s second year, head coach Luis Espinoza is expecting a leap forward for his team of 27 players.

With less than a week of practices under their belt - including two double day practices - the San Benito football team is slowly building to the team that it hopes can defend its Tri-County Athletic League title in the new Monterey Bay League this fall.